Angels among us

Here it was. The fabulous FedEx envelope I have grown to love. It was our psych eval, typed, notarized, sealed and delivered. I really thought this lady must have been too good to be true. I guess that is kinda the way the world works these days. That old saying,"If it seems too good to be true it probably is" really shapes society. I guess no one informed the old saying people that sometimes someone who seems too good, just may be that. Good. God does have angels floating around, and this time we were just blessed enough to find one.

I found another one today. It seemed pretty unlikely when I first saw her, but as we talked I learned so much. She stood before me, all 5ft10, 250 pounds with her hair cut in a bob to her chin and dyed bright pink. She was the daughter of my patient occupying the ER cot between me and this woman. The patient gasped and coughed and had become quite confused because her oxygen level had dropped so low. The daughter went on to intelligently explain her mother's medical problems. Her COPD, her previous lung cancer and her diabetes. She was well versed at each hospitalization and her meeds, it was clear she hadn't left her mother's side. She smiled as she said her mother was not expected to live for six months after her diagnosis of lung cancer and she had lived 7 years. The pink haired lady described her children and how she loved it when people thought her mother was her sister. She could think of no greater complement as her mother was her best friend.

Why is this important? Well, I am not sure I would have necessarily taken the time to see such an angel before Nate. Nate is our first child of color. As I work through this process I find I see people differently. I used to see a person like this and have a preconceived notion of who they were because of their hair or skin. I began to ralize a while back, people will have preconconcieved notions about Nate by virtue of his skin. I have been more aware of what impressions people have based on appearances. I also have a feeling that this single truth is only the start of things that Nate was put in my life to teach me. I think we are in for quite a ride!